The next day, Katar resud training with the group, building upon what he had taught them about mana essence the previous night.
After seating them down, he began explaining how mana essence strengthened an incarnation’s potential and improved their ability usage.
"As incarnations, your powers originate from the spaces you are connected to," Katar said.
"Mana is the essence that allows you to output those powers. Without mana, you cannot channel your abilities."
He paused, letting the words settle.
"Think of mana as fuel. Your abilities are sparks or flas. When you use them, you burn through the mana in your body. When there is no fuel left, the fla dies."
He continued calmly.
"The amount of fuel you possess determines how much fire you can produce. Mana essence increases the amount of fuel your body can store."
"I see," Matt said slowly. "But I’ve got a question."
Katar glanced at him.
"Where do we get mana from?"
"Your mana pool," Katar replied.
Confused looks imdiately spread across their faces.
"Your mana pool was ford when you integrated with your systems during your trials," Katar explained. "It is permanently linked to your keeper’s space. Mana constantly flows from that space into your pool and is stored there over ti."
Eric frowned. "How do you know all this?"
Katar harrumphed.
"Isn’t it obvious? I was once an incarnation too."
"You were?" Alia asked, her eyes lighting up. She always paid close attention to Katar, mostly because he was a cat.
"Yes," Katar replied flatly. "And the rest of that story is none of your business." He said before anyone could ask more.
"So integrating mana essence expands your mana pool?" Reya asked, leaning back on her hands.
"Correct," Katar said. "What I taught you yesterday was the proper thod of integrating all the mana essence you have acquired."
He had instructed them to sit still and sense the essence within their bodies. From there, he guided them on how to channel it correctly, allowing it to rge naturally with their mana pools.
This was basic mana essence integration.
There were more advanced techniques Katar intended to teach later, which would allow them draw much stronger output directly from their spaces. For now, however, this was enough.
For Icard, though, most of this was unnecessary.
Mana essence ca to him directly in the form of AP. Unlike the others, he did not need to integrate it manually, and his system granted him far more flexibility using them.
However, he would just follow up with them for now.
Later that evening, Icard sat alone outside the front door.
[-Chuckles-]
A panel flickered into existence before him.
However, Icard ignored it.
[I Sensed Growth In Your Mana Pool]
He ignored it again.
[Hmm. Given The Kind Of Opponent Wester Is, And Your Limited AP, Your Choices Were Reasonable]
"..."
[You Should Be Graaateful That I Supplied You With Mana All This Ti. Without , Your Limit Would Have Stopped At The Third Floor. Wasn’t I A Liiiittle Helpful?]
’Tch.’
Icard felt an irritation creep up on him.
’You did all that just to do what you did to ,’ he thought. ’If I had known, I never would have accepted your help.’
There was pain in that thought. Real pain.
[-Chuckles- That Was The Only Way For To Get What I Wanted]
’And what you wanted was to put through months of hell,’ Icard shot back. ’You forced to fight you over and over. You toyed with . You stabbed and left to die more tis than I can count.’
[-Laughs Darkly- I Gave You Access To Higher Floors. You Were The One Who Refused To Take Them]
’You’re sick, Alyxara.’
[-Low, Amused Laughter- If I Hadn’t Been Doing That, I Wouldn’t Be Able To Speak To You Now. I Wouldn’t Have Been Able To Stop You From Running Whenever You Wanted. Because Of That, I Gained A Little More Control Over You, Icard]
Icard scoffed.
’Good thing you finally admitted it. Because you won’t be getting any more control.’
The truth was simple.
Icard’s true mana pool limit was the third floor. One skill from there was supposed to drain his mana completely.
Yet he had exceeded that limit multiple tis.
He had even accessed a special skill from the fourth floor, sothing his body should never have been capable of supporting now.
All of it had been possible only because Alyxara had been supplenting his mana pool with her own essence, forcing his body beyond what it could naturally sustain.
Power was borrowed at a cost.
A cost he was only now beginning to fully understand.
What was it?
By doing so, Alyxara had been able to slightly infiltrate Icard’s connection to Erient’s system. Like so kind of system corruption or virus.
Little by little, she gained influence over how Icard interacted with it.
Her ability to communicate with him through the panels was one of the earliest signs. It was the result of her corrupting the interface between the system and Icard.
And it did not stop there.
Even when Icard had requested a direct AP trade using mana, she never actually completed the exchange. Instead, she quietly supplented his pool with her own mana essence.
Each ti she did that, her influence deepened.
Eventually, she gained enough control to forcibly draw Icard into the Frost Tower space and keep him there for over a month, while on Earth, barely a day had passed.
During that ti, she toyed with him.
She allowed him access to higher floors while forcing him to fight her repeatedly. The higher floors gave him just enough power to survive, enough to push back against her, but never enough to escape.
But, by the ti Icard realized what was happening, it was already too late.
Her control had deepened further. Deep enough that she could reach into fragnts of his past life, and mories he had never intended to share.
The thought alone made his stomach twist but then, it was already done.
[Hmmmm. That Wester Ca Pretty Close To Killing Qurix Last Ti]
She was changing the subject.
Icard exhaled slowly, forcing his irritation down.
’Funny, isn’t it?’
[-Laughs Loudly-]
Icard sighed and ignored her.
’Last ti, I barely stood a chance against him,’ he thought. ’Albert was the one who brought him down, but Luna ended up badly wounded.’
He paused, then added quietly.
[But That’s Not Why You Want To Fight Him This Ti, Is It?]
’No,’ Icard replied, his fists tightening.
’He nearly killed Reya too. He tortured her so badly it took her a long ti to recover.’
He covered his face again now.
’So the mont I saw his face again, I knew. I just want to kill him.’
[-Soft Chuckle- Why Don’t You Let Watch Too]
The implication was clear.
If she gained more access, she could see and hear the world through him. Right now, she could only hear his thoughts.
’Forget it, Alyxara’ he said to her, before standing up and heading back inside.
---
anwhile, Maxwell had already begun preparations for another raid.
The last one had been dangerous, but their needs remained unt.
"I heard the previous raid encountered a swarm of ant lizards," Maxwell said. "Even so, casualties were limited, thanks to the chieftain revealing itself early."
"You were lucky," Gremit replied. "That kind of fortune doesn’t repeat itself."
Albert folded his arms and snorted.
"You need a safer approach, Maxwell."
Maxwell nodded.
"That’s why this eting was called."
He hesitated before continuing.
"But what you said about the core stone being nearly stolen still bothers . You’re certain it was an avarice?"
Gremit nodded firmly.
"There’s no such thing as a scavenging spawn."
Maxwell sighed.
"This is going to get complicated."
He looked up toward the ceiling.
"You’ll be joining us this ti, won’t you? Ixie."
From above, a massive owl-like Erwald hung upside down, its talons embedded into the structure. Its body was enormous, its feathers dark and dense, and a pair of curved horns jutted from its skull.
It inhaled deeply, spreading its vast wings before folding them back in.
"I’m listening, Maxwell," a mature and composed feminine voice replied.
---
Elsewhere, Wester sat atop a pile of rubble.
Beneath him lay a corpse.
The man’s chest had been completely caved in as a massive hole had been torn straight through him.
He was one of Albert’s n.
Before Wester stood five people.
A purple-black glow seeped faintly from their bodies, but their eyes were empty. Their arms hung limply at their sides, standing like puppets, stripped of their will.
Wester clenched his fists, his grin stretching wide.
Seban stood beside him, silent.
"My keeper has granted access to higher skills," Wester said, his voice thick with excitent. "Enough to control even humans."
He laughed softly.
"At this point, I can’t afford to lose."
His gaze sharpened.
"So I’ll start by erasing that boy. And once he’s gone... I’ll wipe out everyone connected to him."
His grin widened further.
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